


Somewhere Only We Know

by dreammethew0rld



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-16 22:03:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21278444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreammethew0rld/pseuds/dreammethew0rld
Summary: "Maybe home isn't a place it's a person, and she's finally home"





	Somewhere Only We Know

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by Lindsey's very deep love for Colorado and my love for the two of them. I may or may not add a second part to this and make it a mini series. Sorry for any typos and my overuse of commas but hope you enjoy!

“No Rosie, it goes step, hip, down, step.”

“Why are you telling me how to do _ my _ dance, Sonnett? It’s _ my _dance. I made it up.”

Emily laughs. “Because you’re doing it wrong.”

“Can you shut up and let me show you how it goes?”

“Can you both shut up please, you’re being annoying.” Mal chimes. 

Lindsey adds, “They’re always annoying Mal, are you surprised by this at all?”

“Oh shush, you know you love us.” Rose says. 

Emily just laughs and presses play on the song again. They’re at a hotel in Denver for camp. Lindsey and Mal are sitting on one of the beds, the one that’s not pushed against the wall (Rose and Sonnett are very serious about their dances and claim they need more room than just the space between the beds normally). 

Lindsey just watches them, smiling softly to herself because yeah, they’re idiots, the biggest idiots she’s ever met and _ maybe, _ but _ only _ maybe Emily looks cute in her Adidas hat and sweatpants while she focuses really hard on getting the moves right. Lindsey notices the way her tongue sticks out slightly when she’s concentrating. It sometimes happens on the pitch too, her eyebrows scrunch a tad and her tongue hangs out before a free kick and Lindsey has more recently started to notice that it’s really, _ really _cute. 

Emily looks up at Lindsey and moves her hips harder, exaggerating the dance when they lock eyes. And then she gives a huge grin, cackles loudly and misses a beat. 

_ Idiot. _

“Sonnett! Stop, oh my god we almost had it that time!”

Lindsey looks down, still smiling, hiding her cheeks that she can feel are warming up.

Emily is still laughing. “Sorry. I’m sorry, but by the way, you were still doing it wrong.”

Rose yells, probably too loudly for a hotel and Mal just groans. 

They’re idiots. Lindsey loves them dearly. 

:::

They steal the team van and drive to dinner that night. Well, Lindsey drives because she actually knows her way around, at least better than the rest of them. So would Mal, except Lindsey knew she would be too preoccupied with the other two idiots to get them there safely. So Lindsey drives and Mal shouts song suggestions to Emily, who’s sitting in the passenger seat with the aux. 

Lindsey’s focused on driving, looking for familiar landmarks of the place she grew up, when Emily places a hand lightly on her thigh. Mal and Rose are too busy to notice, looking at something on Rose’s phone and laughing hysterically. It’s not like it would really be that weird if they _ did _notice. They’ve always been touchy: Lindsey’s feet in Emily’s lap (to Emily’s dismay), bus rides with heads against shoulders, brunch with thigh against thigh, but somehow Lindsey’s whole body heats up at Emily’s touch and she has to swallow and focus on the road. 

This has been happening a lot more recently, just like how she’s been noticing Emily’s blonde, messy bun and baseball hat a lot more recently. 

She turns up the music and looks over at Emily who’s bobbing her head and swinging her other arm to the beat of the song. Bun and hat still in tow, she looks happy and soft and cozy and Lindsey wants to hug her, wrap her arms around her and feel her warmth from her sweatshirt. It’s not even that cold in Colorado tonight, the last of the snow melting during the warm April day, but Lindsey knows she would feel warmer if she was closer to Emily. The good kind of warm, the hazy, dripping in honey, hot summer day kind of warm. 

Summer has always been her favorite season. 

“Oh my gosh I love this song!” Mal yells, pulling Lindsey out of her daze. 

“Yeah, Kelley showed it to me yesterday. It’s really good.”

Lindsey turns up the volume even more and then they’re all dancing (they can never seem to _ stop _dancing), until Lindsey has to focus in order to parallel park, the way her dad taught her to when she was sixteen. 

“No way Linds, how did you do that so easily. You made it look like an art.” Emily teases, grinning at her from the passenger seat as she’s turning off the car. 

“I would _ not _have been able to do that.” Rose says through a laugh (Lindsey thinks she probably hasn’t stopped laughing for at least the last 24 hours, or maybe ever). 

“It’s because you guys are children, and I have to be the adult here.” She shoots back, opening her door and stepping on the street, looking for cars, of course. 

Emily yells from across the sidewalk as Lindsey’s already making her way into the restaurant, “It’s funny Linds, because guess who’s actually the oldest one here.”

Mal and Rose are still laughing about _ something _ and they all jog to catch up with her. 

They’re at camp, so they chose a semi healthy option tonight, at least to avoid the wrath of Dawn. Lindsey took them to a place she’s been before a few times. They have great acai bowls and great juice and she knew they would all like it. 

“I like this place Linds, it’s got like… a good vibe.” Emily tells her, through bites of acai.

“Yeah I like it too. There are a lot more places I could’ve taken us to though, if it was off season.”

“Stupid Dawn,” Mal chuckles. “I have places I could show you guys too.” 

“Sorry Mal, gonna have to trust Lindsey on this one. Since she’s the adult and all, ya know?” Emily says. She turns towards Lindsey, pushing away slightly from where their thighs are touching in the booth, and cocks her head, smiling. 

“What?” Mal gives an exaggerated gasp. “You don’t trust me as a good Coloradan?”

“No I do, but I trust Lindsey more, as like an adult. You’re a child, Mallory, sorry I don’t make the rules”

“You guys are rude.” Mal says with a puff. 

Emily keeps looking at Lindsey for a few more seconds, head still tilted to the side and grinning wildly. Lindsey’s eyes flicker down to her mouth, shadowed under her cap for a split second until she snaps out of it and returns to her food. Emily does the same, scooching her body even closer to Lindsey than before she moved.

Lindsey wishes she was even closer though; it’s cold in the restaurant. 

:::

They drive back afterwards, with Emily’s playlist blasting and laughs that are too loud for the small vicinity of the car. When they get back to the room, Lindsey is tired, they’re probably _ all _ tired and definitely slap happy with the amount dumb jokes they are laughing at. They just arrived this morning and travel always exhausts Lindsey, so she kind of wants to tell everyone to leave so she can sleep. But they all look so happy and she can’t stop looking at Emily, because she’s cackling again and showing Rose a new dance move she just made up and wants to put in their routine. Yeah, on second thought maybe she wants to stay awake. If only to look at the crinkles around Emily’s eyes when she smiles and the way her hips move when she dances. 

Before she has a say in anything though, Sam is knocking on the door and a few minutes after that Kelley strides in and then it’s really loud in the small hotel room. Lindsey’s still focusing on Emily, feels like she _ has _to focus on Emily right now or she knows her head will start to hurt even worse than it already is. Maybe it’s the altitude, she thinks. And the thought makes her sad, because if she’s getting affected by the altitude she is definitely not spending enough time in her favorite place. 

Things quiet down a few minutes later, after Kelley has tried and then failed to learn the dance and Rose gets frustrated, once again. Emily climbs onto the bed next to Lindsey, pulls her legs into herself and rests her chin on her knees. Lindsey wishes she wasn’t wearing her hat anymore, as much as she has been thinking about how it looks on Emily tonight, she wishes she could see her eyes and nose and lips more. So she grabs the bill of the hat and throws it across the room. 

Emily’s jaw drops and she gives her an accusatory look. “Lindsey Horan, did you just do that?” 

Lindsey just chuckles deeply. Her plan didn’t work though, because Emily is already off the bed and retrieving the accessory before Lindsey even has time to look at her. And then Emily is crawling towards her on the bed again, hat tightly secured on her blonde head. And then she’s tickling her, fingers wiggling over Lindsey’s stomach and trying to get under her armpits and Lindsey’s laughing loudly, even though she can feel her headache grow stronger from the sudden attack. 

Emily can probably sense it, how tired Lindsey is, so she halts and sits back down, leaning her head on Lindsey’s shoulders and sighing quietly. 

“You ok?” Emily says it softly, just for Lindsey to hear. Lindsey can feel the vibrations of her voice against her shoulder despite the low volume. 

“Hmh, I’m fine, just tired. It’s been a long day, and they are kind of a lot to be around.” She gestures towards Kelley, Rose and Sam who are _ still _trying to learn Rose’s choreography. 

“Hm yeah, but you love them and you love me.” She lifts her head to give Lindsey a soft smile and then lays it back down. 

“I guess you could say that.” Lindsey says with her cheek against Emily’s head. 

“Do you wanna go to bed? Kinda wanna kick these psychos out.”

“You say that like you aren’t one of the psychos. But yeah, kick them out please.”

Emily doesn’t respond, doesn’t need to because she’s already across the bed and standing up.

“Ok idiots, party’s over. Get out before I make you get out.”

All three of the dancers groan.

_ Children _, Lindsey thinks from the bed. 

Mal just collects her stuff and heads towards the door.

The rest of them do leave eventually but not without protest. They _ have _ to perfect it to show Abby tomorrow, and then they _ really _ have to have it perfected by Saturday so they can do it in the locker room after the game. Emily just tells them, “It’s Wednesday, you have time,” before pushing all three of them towards the door. 

Emily and Lindsey get ready for bed in comfortable silence, grateful for the quiet after such a loud day. At this point, Lindsey is convinced Emily is going to sleep in the stupid Adidas hat because she still has it on as she’s walking out of the bathroom towards her bed. But then she sits on the side of it, looks at Lindsey, who’s sitting cross legged against the headboard of her own bed, and throws the hat across the room like a frisbee. 

“Better now?” Emily asks. 

Lindsey doesn’t say anything, she doesn’t have anything to say, because she’s still watching Emily as she reaches up to undo her bun and shakes out her hair with her eyes closed. 

Lindsey’s mouth goes a little bit dry, even though it definitely, _ definitely _ shouldn’t have. 

“Goodnight Linds, maybe the bed bugs will come and eat you in your sleep.”

“Wow Em, what a comforting thought. Goodnight you psycho.”

And with that, Emily shuts the lights off and Lindsey focuses on the way Emily’s breathing sounds in the bed next to hers. Her last thought before her mind drifts to sleep is that the room is really cold and Emily is really far away. 

:::

Lindsey wakes to the sound of her alarm the next morning. They have the whole day off today, but she set it early because she has a plan. A plan she’s really looking forward to but actually forgot to tell anyone about. So she gets out of bed easily and throws a pillow at Emily to wake her up. She catches a glimpse of her head against the pillow with her blonde hair spread out above her. Her mouth turns dry again, so she hits Emily harder with the pillow. 

She groans. “What Linds, what time is it?”

“Time to get up.”

“What, why? This is our day off.”

“I know, and we’re going somewhere. So get up.”

With a few more groans, Emily sits up and Lindsey heads into the bathroom after making sure Emily won’t lay back down again. 

She shoots Mal a text.

**Lindsey**: What’s your plan today? Going around to a few places if you want to come. 

Mal loves Colorado almost has much as Lindsey does, so she doesn’t want to leave her in the dust in case she doesn’t already have her own plan. Mal replies a few seconds later, already awake, so Lindsey assumes that she does. And for some reason Lindsey is relieved. 

**Mal:** Going to see my family and I think Rose is coming with me, what’s Sonnett doing?

**Lindsey**: Coming with me

**Mal**: Have fun, see you at dinner?

**Lindsey: **Not sure yet but have fun with Rose, she’ll probably try and convince your fam to learn her dance 

Mal replies with an eye roll emoji. Lindsey peaks her head around the bathroom corner. 

“You better not be asleep.”

“I’m awake. Am I allowed to ask where we're going?”

“Just get dressed dumbass, you’ll see later.” 

Lindsey calls an Uber when they’re getting ready to head down to the lobby. 

“Wait should I bring a jacket?” Emily asks once Lindsey already has the door open. There’s no accessory on her head today. Her hair is down, straight and blonde and Lindsey wonders if it’s because she made a thing out of the hat. She doesn't care though, Emily looks good. 

“Yes Son, it’s winter, do you know where we are?” 

“It’s actually like, not winter at all. It’s very much spring.”

“It’s winter. Get your jacket, let’s go.” Colorado very much does not have a spring, Lindsey knows. 

The drive to Golden is quiet with the exception of the soft sound of the local radio station, one she recognizes as her favorite. Lindsey looks out the window to the highway with familiar exits that once used to be her whole life: before she went to France, before she went to Portland, before she even knew Emily, who’s sitting next to her looking out the opposite window. 

It’s weird to think about, how much of Lindsey’s life she lived in this state without even knowing the chaotic blonde next to her and now she’s here with her and it feels like she’s been here the whole time. 

The bench in the back of the car is too wide for them to be touching, naturally anyway. Lindsey would have to stretch her whole arm across the seat in order to reach Emily but she thinks about doing it, thinks about the softness of Emily’s sweatshirt (a similar one from last night, she doesn’t have much duality in her closet and sometimes Lindsey teases her for it), thinks about the warmth of Emily’s thigh if she laid her hand over her joggers, how soft her hands would feel if Emily put her hand over Lindsey’s. Lindsey doesn’t know why she’s thinking this detailed. It’s just Emily, they’ve been in the back of an Uber together before. She doesn’t know why this time it would be any different. She could do it though, it probably wouldn’t be weird but it wouldn’t be subtle and she knows her cheeks would flush if Emily looked over at her after she did, so she rests her right hand in the middle of them and looks out the window again. 

Lindsey’s breath hitches quietly when she feels it, feels the faint brush of fingertips and then Emily’s slightly cold hand cover hers, still rested on the bench between them. 

Lindsey keeps looking out the window, even though she can tell Emily is looking at her. If she feels a rush of warmth start from her hand and travel through her body into her stomach, she ignores it and looks out at the mountains they are heading towards. She stays that way, cheeks flushed, hand burning and heart rate definitely above average until they’re pulling in front of her parent’s house. 

“Wait, Lindsey this is your parents house? I wasn’t prepared to meet the family today Linds, a little heads up would’ve been nice.” Emily says as they’re making their way out of the car. Emily’s met her parents many times, and they love Emily, so Lindsey knows she’s exaggerating. 

“Wanted to catch you off guard, so you wouldn’t overthink it, ya know?” She jokes. 

Emily just laughs and follows her lead up to her porch. They really aren’t staying for long, as part of Lindsey’s thought out plan they are just stopping in to say hi for a few minutes because it would be weird if she was here and didn’t say hi. They’ll be at the game on Saturday anyway, so Lindsey isn’t that disappointed at the short visit today, although she does miss them dearly. But she has other things she wants to do today. 

Her mom gives her a warm hug when she opens the door, then moves on to Emily to do the same and Lindsey can already feel herself relax more at the familiar scent and aura of her childhood home. She doesn’t know what she’s been feeling for the past couple days (or months really), but she’s glad to be home and she’s glad Emily is with her, even though Emily has been the cause of some of these feelings. She’s at least a little self aware to acknowledge that. 

Her mom offers them drinks and snacks, just like any mom would and asks the questions any mom would ask to catch up with them. But Lindsey can’t help but feel like Emily is more than just a friend right now, more than just her best friend she brought home, even though that’s exactly how it is. She really wants her mom to like Emily, even though she knows she already does and has told Lindsey multiple times. 

They sit in the kitchen for a few minutes, filling her mom in on the plan for today and the plan for Saturday. And then they’re already hugging again, her mom walking them to the door and telling them to be safe and have fun like they were high schoolers going to a house party. 

“Your mom is like the nicest human I’ve ever met. Wonder why those genes didn’t get translated into you.” Emily jokes as they’re walking down the driveway. 

Lindsey scoffs. “You say that like I’m not about to give you the best tour of Colorado you can get... for _ free _. Unless you wanna pay up, Em.”

“Nah I’m good Linds, kinda broke right now, ya know, equal pay and everything.”

Lindsey just laughs. She can never _ not _ laugh when Emily speaks most of the time. And she’s not as good at banter as Emily because she's so goddamn funny all Lindsey can do is _ laugh. _

“How far is this walk anyway? Wait where are we even going?” 

“You’ll see.”

“Well I hope it’s food because I’m starving. As much as I love your mom I didn’t really want cookies as my first meal of the day. I want toast, you taking me to get toast, Linds?”

“Where else would I take you?”

They walk side by side the short distance from her parent’s house. Lindsey taking in all the familiar spots of her hometown and watching as Emily’s eyes light up at every dog they pass on the sidewalk. Then they arrive at a cafe Lindsey used to do her homework at in high school. It’s small and cozy and smells like coffee. Lindsey actually doesn’t know if they even have avocado toast on the menu, since her love for it started in Portland and not Golden, but she’s taking a chance. And low and behold, she orders them both 2 slices and iced coffee and finds Emily sitting at a small table near the window. 

They chat and eat, about what Emily’s parents and sister are up to and other various topics surrounding their lives (they live very, very similar lives so most topics are intertwined between both of them).

“You know I'm never, ever going to not bring up how your parents named their daughters Emily and Emma right? Never.” 

“I wasn’t born yet, I didn’t have a say!” Emily says through a laugh and a shrug. 

They finish the last of their meal in comfortable silence, listening to the music playing softly in the background and the names the barista is calling out to tell people their order is ready.

If Lindsey feels a foot rest against hers from under the table she tries to ignore it and takes another bite of toast. If she catches herself staring too intently at the way Emily’s hair falls in front of her face when she has both hands holding her food, she forces herself to look out the window. And she definitely, definitely hides her blush with her hand over her cheek when Emily gives her a soft smile over the table before stuffing her mouth again. 

Lindsey feels a little weird walking out of the restaurant. Like her brain is slightly intoxicated and not fully clear, even though it’s a Thursday morning in her hometown and if she went anywhere to have a clear mind this would be the place. She’s thinking too hard, she always does. 

“Where to next, tour guide?”

“Follow me.”

Emily gives a little solute in the direction of Lindsey. “Yes ma’am.”

They turn left out onto the sidewalk and start a slow pace down the street. 

“Ooh Linds, take a picture of me.” Emily says, walking faster towards the arch that reads “**Howdy Folks! Welcome To Golden” **and underneath in smaller letters, “**Where The West Lives”**. It rainbows across both sides of the street. Lindsey saw it everyday for the first eighteen years of her life, so she doesn’t really think it’s that groundbreaking of a structure (it isn’t, in an architectural sense). But she’s never seen _Emily _stand underneath it, so she can’t help but smile while watching her waddle towards it after waiting for all the cars to pass. Lindsey strides out into the street and takes her phone out as Emily poses with a huge grin and two thumbs up. 

“Send it to me.” 

“Ok, you’re gonna get hit by a car though if you don’t move.” 

Lindsey’s already back on the sidewalk as Emily jogs to catch up. Without skipping a beat, she strides up to Lindsey and links their arms together. Lindsey doesn’t slow down their pace. Instead of noticing the softness and warmth of Emily’s sweatshirt, she takes in the crisp air of the place she loves as they walk down Main Street. She never can quite describe how she feels about this place, how it twinges at her heart whenever she thinks about it and even more when she gets to come back.

A lot of things started for her here. A relationship (one that maybe she wishes hadn’t started at all, if only to spare a few months of tears), a lot of friendships with people she still loves dearly, and probably the most important one: her love for soccer, the sport her whole life revolves around now and the sport that brought her Emily. 

She finishes up the thought as they veer off the main sidewalk to a gravel trail and then arrive at their next destination. 

They stand there looking at it for a few seconds, at the field where it all started. With the mountains in the back and Emily’s arm through hers, Lindsey takes a deep breath and thinks maybe she can physically feel her heart fill with happiness. She feels lighter now than she even did a couple minutes ago. 

“This is my field,” she says quietly. 

“It’s beautiful, Linds.” 

She delinks their arms and starts to walk slowly across it. 

“God, my mom used to get so pissed at me for being here for so long. It would get too dark for me to walk home alone and she would have to come pick me up. I would’ve stayed here all night if it weren’t for her.” 

Emily doesn’t say anything, just walks slowly beside her, shoulders touching. 

“No one barely even came here most of the time. The field at the school has lights and better grass. But I always liked this place for some reason.”

“I wish we had a ball so I could school you right now,” Emily says as she bumps into her shoulder, which causes Lindsey to lose her balance slightly. She laughs and pushes Emily back the other way with her own shoulder. 

“There’s probably one around here, but I’m not here enough anymore to be the one supplying them, so who knows.”

As she says it, she spots one, across the field near the goal post. She jogs over to it. It’s deflated slightly and looks rough overall but they can make it work. 

She turns around and punts it towards Emily, who’s standing in the middle of the field looking at her phone.

“Sonny, get off, we’re enjoying nature. Don’t you see those mountains over there.” She whines, coming to stand next to Emily in the center of the field again. 

When she gets there, Emily turns her phone to show Lindsey. It’s the picture she just took, getting ready to post on her story. Instead of **“Where The West Lives” ** that’s written on the arch she crossed it out and typed “ **Where the Great Horan Lives**” and added a thumbs sticker. 

Lindsey chuckles. “I love it.”

Because she does. As much as she actually despises that nickname, she loves her town and she loves Emily. So yeah, she loves it. 

She’s about to tell Emily to get off her phone again but before she can, she’s already stolen the ball that rests under Lindsey’s foot and is dribbling down the field towards the torn up goal. Lindsey doesn’t run after her, even though it’s in her instincts to. Instead, she just stands there, watching as Emily pulls back her left foot and rockets the ball into the net. She turns around swiftly after it drops to the ground. 

She yells, “Not bad for a center back, eh?”

Lindsey still doesn’t run towards her, she just tilts her head back and laughs, feels the warm afternoon sun on her skin and when she inhales, feels it go directly into her chest. Yeah, maybe she laughs at everything Emily does, but she probably shouldn’t be laughing _ this _ hard. She’s just really happy, and laughing is a general activity one does when they’re happy; so she keeps laughing, looking up at the sky. 

Emily comes back to stand next to her, ball tucked between her side and forearm. Lindsey’s head pops back up and meets Emily’s smile and all she does is laugh harder. 

“Um, can I get like... some real competition here? Or are you just gonna keep standing there like the idiot you are?” 

Lindsey pushes the ball out of Emily’s grasp and starts towards the goal with it beneath her feet. Emily doesn’t miss a beat, getting all up in Lindsey’s space and using her arms in a way that would most definitely call for a whistle if there was one. 

“Don’t forget, I’m still a center back,” She breathes, looking up at Lindsey from her slightly hunched position. 

Emily does manage to win the ball back from Lindsey’s possession, but not before Lindsey shifts her body between Emily and the ball, turns her hips and shoots it into the net. 

“The Great Horan strikes again.”

Emily retrieves the ball and starts running towards the opposite goal and this time Lindsey doesn’t hesitate to catch up. 

They stay there, playing 1v1, practicing bicycle kicks and headers and weird trick shots they wouldn’t even try in practice.

Lindsey forgets about all of it, forgets about everything. All the tension from whatever she’s been feeling melts away at each breath of cool air, each time she makes a shot, each time she hears Emily’s laugh. She would stay here and never leave if it was possible. Just like how she wanted to in high school when it got dark and her mom came to pick her up. 

This is her own world, her own little sliver of the universe where the outside world doesn’t exist. She has never shared it with anyone else except for the blonde defending her now. She wouldn’t _ want _ to share it with anyone else. 

Sometime later (no one was responsible for keeping track of the time), they’re out of breath and winded and they find their way to the middle of the pitch again. Lindsey sits down cross legged and watches Emily as she does the same. Lindsey can already feel the warmth radiating off of her as their shoulders touch. They don’t say anything, just stare at the mountains to the west and the sky above and catch their breaths. After a while, Lindsey sighs and lays back, one hand on her stomach, the other on the grass between them. Emily does the same. 

“I love this place.” She says, breaking the silence. She’s not thinking about what she’s going to say, instead she’s saying what she’s thinking, her mind feeling clear and light. 

“It’s really great. I can’t believe you got to grow up here.” 

“Me either.” 

Nothing really comes to her mind after that. She just focuses on the warmth of the sun and the sound of the wind and closes her eyes. When she feels the slight brush of fingertips again, then feels a small pinkie wrap around her own, all she does is twist her head toward Emily and open her eyes. 

“I’m really glad you came with me today.”

“You didn’t really give me a choice, Linds,” Emily says jokingly. “But I’m really glad I came too.” She squeezes Lindsey’s pinkie a little tighter. 

“It wouldn’t of been the same if Mal or Rose or anybody else came.” She’s speaking freely now, because she feels like she can. On her favorite pitch with the one person she would want to be with, she knows there’s no reason to not be honest. “I love them but… it would’ve been different, I don’t know. She rushes out the last part, trailing off because now she doesn’t even know what she’s saying before it comes out. 

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” (Because Emily always knows what she means) 

Lindsey is still looking at Emily and Emily is still looking at the sky, until she isn’t and her head turns and they’re eyes meet. They’re calm and lovely and send a wave of something deep into Lindsey’s stomach. 

They don’t say anything else. They’re inches apart and Lindsey can almost make out Emily’s breath against her lips despite the wind. It’s like she’s wrapped in a bubble of warmth: the feeling of Emily’s skin against hers, only connected by their pinkies but it’s enough to keep her whole body heated, and the slight puffs of air from Emily’s nose. She’s a lot warmer than she should be. The air is cold but she feels like summer. 

Emily shifts her shoulders and moves her face even closer, still looking into each other’s eyes. Then she lifts her head slightly- 

“Lindsey, can I kiss you?” 

Lindsey looks into her eyes for a few more seconds, drinking in their color she can never quite describe. And then she closes the distance between them and presses her lips to Emily’s. A small gasp escapes Emily’s mouth, even though she’s the one who asked and then they’re kissing. Soft and slow and Lindsey feels like honey is running through her veins. 

Emily tastes like cold air and sweetness and everything good in the world.

They’re pinkies are still linked and Lindsey moves her wrist to slit their fingers together, other hand moving to cup Emily’s cheek. Then, Emily pulls away a few inches, mouth slightly open and eyes wild, until she crashes her lips back into Lindsey’s and a small sound escapes Lindsey’s throat. 

The kiss is deeper after that, not faster but with more hunger and maybe a bit more tongue. Their bodies are pushed against each other until suddenly Emily rolls on top and straddles Lindsey’s waist.

“Is this ok?” She asks quietly. 

Lindsey just nods her head quickly, looking up at Emily from underneath her until she leans back down to kiss her again, hands cupping her face. 

The only thought running through Lindsey’s mind is that this isn’t weird, doesn’t feel like it at all. Despite her constant thoughts recently about what should and shouldn’t be weird between her and her best friend, this just feels right. So there’s not much else going through her head besides the way Emily’s tongue feels in her mouth and how soft her hair is when she runs her fingers through it. 

She thinks Emily feels the same way, because when Lindsey pushes against her hips and rolls them over, she looks at Lindsey with the brightest eyes and the brightest smile and then she laughs into Lindsey’s mouth. 

It feels like the wildflowers on the hillside are blooming in her chest and she kisses Emily so deeply, like the universe might crush them while they’re laying on a tiny soccer pitch in Colorado. 

She’s never felt more at home in her life.

::: 

Sometime later, after they break apart and catch their breaths, still not saying a word, they lay back down and look up at the sky. Lindsey guides Emily’s hand to her mouth and presses her lips to her knuckles. Then, she slits their fingers again and lays them across her stomach. 

Emily’s phone buzzes. She takes it out of her pocket. 

“It’s Rose. She’s wondering if we got mauled by a bear and if we’ll make it back for dinner.” 

“I don’t wanna leave.” Is all Lindsey says. 

Emily takes a moment before responding. “I don’t either.” She rolls onto her side, elbow on the ground and her head in her hand, facing Lindsey. Her other hand is still resting on Lindsey’s stomach.

Lindsey’s still watching the clouds move above. 

“I’m afraid if we leave here you won’t want to kiss me again.”

It might be the most honest things she’s ever said. 

“Linds, I’m gonna kiss you again. If you want me to… I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time and now that I have, I don’t wanna stop anytime soon.”

She turns on her side, mimicking Emily’s position and Emily tucks a piece of hair behind Lindsey’s ear. 

“Really?” Her voice cracks slightly and she can’t stop the smile that spreads across her face.

“Mmh, you’re so good Lindsey, everything about you is good.” 

“I still don’t wanna leave.” 

“I know, but we really should get back, there’s training tomorrow.” 

It feels so far away in Lindsey’s mind right now, the world outside of this field. All she knows is Emily’s voice, Emily’s eyes and Emily’s lips. All she knows is Emily.

But she stands after that, brushing the grass off her thighs and helping Emily to her feet. They don’t make any effort to start walking though. Still standing in the middle of the field, holding hands and looking at each other. 

Then, Emily pulls her hands away to cup Lindsey’s face, stands up on her tip toes and kisses Lindsey faintly. When she pulls away she gives a soft smile.

Lindsey pulls Emily into her chest, wrapping her arms around her waist and shoving her face into the side of her neck. It feels really warm, but Lindsey doesn’t think there’s any aspect of Emily that _doesn’t_ feel warm. 

Emily plants a kiss to the side of her face and pulls away. Before Lindsey can complain, she grabs her hand and pulls her forward. 

As they’re walking away and leaving Lindsey’s small piece of the universe behind, she knows she’s found a home somewhere else. 

**Author's Note:**

> The arch is real, you can look up a picture if you want a visual. Sadly Sonnett's insta story was not. The rest is fiction, just a reminder :) Feel free to leave comments, I like encouragement.


End file.
